Chard stabbing victim admits looking at child porn when attacked

Chard stabbing victim admits looking at child porn when attacked

A CHARD paedophile who was attacked by his flatmate when he caught him viewing child porn online, confessed to the police what he had done when they were called to his home.

The police were notified after Donatas Rinkauskas had been assaulted, and when officers arrived he confessed he had been trawling the internet looking at indecent images.

His computer was immediately seized, and examination of his online activity revealed he had been looking at illegal images in all three categories of seriousness.

The 30-year-old defendant, of Hornsbury Hill, appeared before Somerset Magistrates, sitting at Yeovil.

He pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child in the most serious Category A at Holyrood Street in Chard on or before May 15, 2018.

He also admitted a similar offence involving one Category B image and a further matter involving 96 indecent images in Category C.

Prosecutor Emma Lenanton said the offence came to light because Rinkauskas was the victim of an assault at his home address and the police attended the property after it was reported to them.

“The defendant told the officers that the reason why his flatmate had assaulted him was because he had found him looking at indecent images of young children,” she said.

“He said his flatmate then attacked him and called him a paedophile.”

The defendant’s computer was seized and indecent images in all three categories of seriousness were discovered.

Rinkauskas was compliant and admitted the offences during interview, and the magistrates were told that the defendant would face an application to be made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in due course.

Defending solicitor Neil Priest said that the offences involved a relatively low amount of images with the majority at a low level.

He said: “Any court will have to take into account the mitigating factors in this case as we have a defendant who is of entirely previous good character with no convictions.

“He works locally as a press operator and has every conceivable mitigation in regards to his admissions to the police.”

The magistrates said they felt the case was so serious that Rinkauskas should be committed to Taunton Crown Court to be sentenced.

They adjourned the case until February 1 when he must appear before a judge at Taunton to be sentenced and in the meantime ordered the Probation Service to prepare a pre-sentence report.

The defendant was also ordered to go to Chard police station and sign on the Sex Offenders Register within three days of the court hearing, and until his next court appearance he was given unconditional bail.

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